Thursday, July 27, 2017

Fontainebleau Sale Rumors Heat Up MGM Call

Rumors about a sale of Fontainebleau are nothing new. It's been over a year since the last round of speculation about who could possibly buy the property and maybe open it someday. Back then a sale was expected by the end of summer 2016.

Needless to say that never happened and we've been in a holding pattern ever since.

The lack of news about Fontainebleau made today's MGM Resorts International earnings call that much more surprising. Seemingly out of the blue Carlo Santarelli, Wall Street analyst at Deutsche Bank asked CEO Jim Murren about the property and how long it would take for a company to get it up and running.

Murren joked about the "rumor" and indicated MGM was not interested in the property, but speculated it would take 2 or 3 years for the resort to be operational. He also commented about Fontainebleau possibly being in a good location once the expanded convention center is finished, and thus would be more focused on the lodging aspect of the resort (rather than say gaming).

It's probably true that MGM isn't buying Fontainebleau, although it might be an interesting project for their MGM Growth Properties REIT subsidiary. Either way, hearing this chatter in the middle of the earnings call definitely got my attention. It seems like somebody knows something about a transaction happening soon. Or maybe they don't. The waiting game continues.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Wynn Second Quarter 2017 Earnings

Wynn Resorts released second quarter 2017 earnings today and held their earnings conference call. Revenue and net income were both up year over year due to the addition of Wynn Palace in Macau and helped by higher hold percentage in both Las Vegas and Macau.

Steve Wynn discussed the plans for the redevelopment of the Wynn golf course in Las Vegas. It appears that plans for the course are on track and drawings are being finalized.

The golf course will be redeveloped to include a lagoon along with new hotel rooms and convention space.

Steve Wynn commented that this land is extremely valuable due to its proximity to the Las Vegas Convention Center along with the Sands Expo Center.

Wynn also updated operations in Macau. Wynn Palace is doing well but is currently being somewhat adversely affected by construction at the neighboring MGM Cotai resort being built.

Back stateside Wynn Boston Harbor opening date will be in 2019 with construction now well underway. The company is also buying more property in the Boston / Everett area with an eye on future expansion.